10 Big-Time Wrestling Debuts That Were Totally Wasted
1. Bret Hart (WCW)
When: 15 December 1997 (Nitro).
Why It Was A Waste: Nobody was being talked about more than Bret Hart in late-1997. The infamous 'Montreal Screwjob' had literally just happened, and wrestling sided with the 'Hitman'. That should've been a gimme for Eric Bischoff and WCW, but they screwed it up spectacularly.
Nobody can blame Bischoff for announcing Bret's imminent arrival 24 hours after Survivor Series. That was fine. Debuting Hart on the 15 December '97 Nitro and having him become special ref for Eric vs. Larry Zbyszko though? That wasn't fine. In fact, it outright sucked.
The most-talked about face in the wrestling world was a prop for a match between two non-wrestlers. His role on the biggest pay-per-view of 1997 was to officiate a bunfight few cared for in the first place. Great. This was a huge red flag for the rest of Hart's WCW tenure.
What. A. Waste.
What other major debuts did wrestling companies totally waste? For more WWE, check out WWE 2K23: 10 Improvements Fans Demand and 10 Gimmicks WWE Cancelled For Being TOO SUCCESSFUL!